International Baby Food Action Network and Baby Milk Action have posted an update on the World Health Organization’s moves towards developing tighter ties with corporations through its new Framework of Engagement with non-State Actors. The News Minute also covers the developing story.
“The long-running debate about how WHO interacts with corporations is coming to crisis point,” reports IBFAN. “In the context of its Reform Process WHO Secretariat has been working on a new Framework of Engagement with non-State Actors — a term which applies equally to corporations, big philanthropies and public interest groups.”
IBFAN states that, “There seems to be a lack of political will to sort out this critical component of much needed comprehensive, coherent and effective public interest safeguards in the face of giant companies and private funding for public purposes. Instead the document refers frequently to the need for ‘mutual respect’ and ‘trust’ and proposes that a key principle for relations with WHO is inclusiveness of all actors.”
“Never has the need for an organization like the WHO been more necessary. And never has the organization been spread so thin that it appears rudderless and searching for relevance,” comments The News Minute. “The draft framework of the resolution is yet to take a stand on how conflict of interest will be managed – or whether it should be at all – and instruments available to countries to independently conduct due diligence.”
WHO opens the doors wide to corporate influence (IBFAN Baby Milk Action, May 19, 2015)
Did the WHO just invite corporates to set health policy? (The News Minute, May 19, 2015)
